


Fiercely Bearded

by Anonymous



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Beards (Facial Hair), Cunnilingus, F/M, Marriage Proposal, Post-Canon, Reunion Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-22
Updated: 2021-03-22
Packaged: 2021-03-23 04:53:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30050193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: After several months apart, Sara can't help but be fascinated by Liam's new beard.
Relationships: Liam Kosta/Female Ryder | Sara
Comments: 5
Kudos: 9
Collections: Spectre Requisitions 2021





	Fiercely Bearded

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlyssAlenko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlyssAlenko/gifts).



When Sara stopped to think about it, she and Liam had really done everything backwards when it came to their relationship. When they’d first decided to have a real go at making things work, they’d already gotten accustomed to each other’s little foibles, their flaws. The biggest challenges their relationship had faced at that time was maintaining the separation between Sara as a person, and Sara Ryder: Human Pathfinder.

Oh, and of course, there had been issue of the evil alien who had wanted to take control of the galaxy, but Sara rather thought that had come with the territory.

In any case, it was something of an adjustment to go from spending every day together in the cramped confines of a small scouting vessel to several months in a long-distance relationship. It was better for Sara to stay on Meridian, she was told, really help her fellow humans find their footing in the new home. But Liam… Liam had always wanted to work with the outposts, to go where he felt his skills were required most.

And seeing the way in which he’d floundered after the battle against the Archon, his boundless energy no longer directed towards a discrete goal, who was she to say no when Liam floated the idea of spending some time in Prodromos? It was perfect, he'd said, an opportunity to assisting Lieutenant Bradley _(Augie_ ) with setting up the outpost to be able to support its own independence, while also maintaining strong links with the other colonies.

Building bridges had always been important to Liam.

But _she_ was important to Liam, too, and he’d reminded her of that in his frequent calls and emails back home. Hearing his voice or seeing his words never failed to make her heart ache, or heat pool low in her stomach whenever he sent her _steamier_ messages, which had been more frequent of late.

She missed him; there was no other way to frame it. While she’d always valued her independence in the past, she had come to rely on Liam in a way she’d never cared for anybody else before. He was a part of her now, and he was her anchor, physical distance or no.

She wanted to hold onto him forever, and _fuck_ , the thought no longer scared her. She’d laughed it off when Liam had uttered those words to her in the hazy aftermath of battle, but now they lingered in her mind, like an echo in a cave. _Get married?_

There would be time enough to dwell upon that thought when she actually saw Liam again, and there wasn’t much longer until they would be reunited.

This evening, he’d promised her, insofar as a place like this _had_ an evening.

She could scarcely wait.

*

Sara had thought she’d had it all planned out. She was going to be calm, sedate, dignified. She’d await Liam’s return in their home, a small prefab not too far from the centre of Port Meridian.

But her own eagerness to see Liam again overrode her sensibilities, and instead, she made her way down to the docks to watch his shuttle come in, at first only a speck on the horizon but then larger, larger, until it landed, and its passengers processed, disembarked. She eagerly scanned the procession of people leaving the vessel. Too tall, too short, too hairy. Too hairy? 

Wait.

No.

That _was_ Liam, and he had a beard. Her legs seemed to move of their own volition, unable to keep up with her mind’s desire not to make a scene. The Pathfinder shouldn’t be drawing any undue attention to herself.

But in this moment, she wasn’t _the Pathfinder._ Just Sara. She threw her arms around Liam and he gave her a giant squeeze, half-lifting her off the ground with the force of his hug. A squeal bubbled in the back of her throat and in that moment, she barely recognised herself. She wasn’t the sort of woman who _squealed._ At least, she hadn't been. Until now. 

Once Liam let go, her hands found the side of his face, running over the bristles of his new facial hair. Truth be told, she _had_ imagined Liam with a beard once or twice, maybe a few times… Look, it had been his fault for telling her had been ‘fiercely bearded’ during his HUST-1 days. Somehow, it was even neater than she had imagined, which was unfair when she reflected upon it: Liam had always been meticulous about his personal grooming.

God knew his hair took more effort to take care of than her own.

“Missed you,” Liam said, before pressing a brief, too-fleeting kiss to the corner of her lips.

“I missed you too,” Sara answered, bright-eyed and earnest, returning the kiss with a peck of her own. Her hands drifted over his shoulders, slipped down his sides, and settled at his waist. Lowering her voice to guard it from any eavesdroppers, she added, “but I think we can do better than that.”

She was thrilled when Liam’s tone gained its own rough quality when he responded. “Yeah. Me too. Somewhere more private, you reckon.”

Sara hummed, tilting her head to one side. Why was she smiling so much it _hurt_? “Yeah, maybe.”

Liam laughed. “Sara Ryder, you are incorrigible.”

*

They were meant to go get something to eat first, but it turned out Liam had dinner plans of his own, and Sara _definitely_ wasn’t going to complain. They had barely made it through the door before Liam had backed her against the couch – the same couch he’d had in his room on _The Tempest_ – eager fingers pulling against the waistband of her jeans.

She helped him help her wriggle out of them, making an executive decision to unbutton and unzip the garment, so that he might actually get them off. Get her off. _Details._ She’d never been particularly detailed-oriented at the best of times, and it was hard to concentrate when Liam was kissing a trail up her inner thighs, sliding off her underwear. Especially when his facial hair _tickled._

She squeezed her legs together, unable to supress a laugh. “So,” she said, bringing her hands to the side of his face one more, “this is new.”

He looked up at her, brow creased as though in deep thought. “You don’t like it?” he asked. The genuine note of vulnerability that crept into his voice made her heart clench.

“No,” she said, before realising how ambiguous her answer sounded. “I mean, I _do_. I love it. I’ve always liked a man with a beard.”

“Oh,” Liam said, breathing out a sigh of relief. “I’m happy to hear you say that. I thought that might be the case, which is why I wanted it to be a surprise. And now I’m rambling. I’ll just shut up now,” he said, and Sara was going to stop him, tell him that whatever he had to say was _important_ , that she was always willing to listen, but then he lowered his head between her bare thighs, fingers pressing into her wet cunt, tongue tracing circles on her clit.

Feeling the giggle rise in the back of her throat, she reminded him, “Just – just be careful. It tickles.”

He made a noise of assent in the back of his throat, because his mouth was preoccupied with other activities. She allowed herself to relax, to lean into the sensations, the building tension in gut, how her clit seemed to respond – and crave – every swipe of his tongue. And above all, she savoured the scratch of Liam’s new beard against her thighs, which, to her surprise, only heightened her arousal.

She didn’t last long once he started moving his fingers inside her, crooking them against that spot which never failed to make her see stars. “Oh, fuck, _Liam_ ,” she gasped, hands tightening in his hair as he coaxed her over her peak.

He didn’t remove his fingers from her as she pulsed around him, but he did lift his head, a cocky little smile on his face as he looked up at him. “Worth it, yeah?”

Sara wasn’t sure who moved first, but before she knew it, they were kissing, and she could taste herself on his tongue, not to mention _feel_ the way some of her juices had caught on the bristles of his beard.

“Worth it,” she agreed once she pulled away, and her heart hammered in her chest, overwhelmed with her love for this man, how she wanted him to be in her life forever. “Marry me?” she asked, surprised that the words had slipped out of her at all.

But if she was surprised, it didn’t have anything on Liam. His brows lifted so high she thought they would disappear into his hairline. He let out a little laugh, delighted. “I must be rubbing off on you.”

“Yeah,” Sara agreed readily with a cheeky little wriggle. “In more ways than one. But, Liam…” She reached out for his hand, gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know I don’t have a ring or anything, but I mean it. I really do.”

He squeezed her hand back in return. “Then I s’pose I’m meant to give an answer.”

Her heart threatened to explode, even though there shouldn’t have been any doubt in her mind. 

Liam grinned. “ _Shit_ yeah.”

Relief flooded Sara's veins. They were getting _married_. 


End file.
